Friday, April 29, 2005

Your Guide to Buying a Digital Camera

Are you are one of those people who have never owned a digital camera in their life? You should go to a corner and cry for ten minutes. Then get back to this guide to buying a digital camera before hopping into your car to purchase one.

Decide out what you want to use it for. Walking into a camera store can be quite overwhelming - hundreds of cameras ranging from the size of a credit card to as wide as a computer manual. It may be cute to carry around a sleek little red digicam, but you will have to consider what you are actually going to use it for.

Will you need a compact one to store in your handbag? Are you planning to take professional photos for work? Does the number of features matter to you? Do you want a camera with manual functions? You don?t want to bring home a camera that does not satisfy your needs, or purchase one with so many features that you won?t be able to use it.

Y0u should be familiar with camera specs. So many fancy words on the box might make it look like your wallet sized camera will turn you into a professional shutterbug. Mega Pixel is the maximum resolution per photo--the higher the MP, the bigger the prints you can get without it looking blurry. If you are only planning to exchange photos on the internet, then a 2MP camera is fine. Optical Zoom and Digital Zoom are two different things - most pros snub Digital Zoom, since this is actually a software function that crops the image, which makes it lose its quality.

Your Budget. We won't lie to you: digital cameras do not exactly come cheap. When budgeting on which camera to take home, consider the features, its size, its Mega Pixel count, and the brand.

Many photographers swear by one brand over the other - if you are particularly loyal to just one brand, then you can shun the others and bask in just one aisle. But if you are a little bit more open-minded, then you have got a bigger playground to frolic in.

Also, you will need to see what kind of memory card (which is sort of like the 'film' of the camera) the camera needs, and what kind of digital camera batteries fuel it. Most digital cameras use AA batteries, so investing in a bunch of rechargeable ones is key.

Try the camera out. Many people make the mistake of reading the box, swiping their credit card, and coming home to find out that they are not comfortable with their latest purchase. While in the store, try taking a bunch of photos. Make sure it fits well in your hand, and it is easy to use. The most user-friendly cameras out there are Canon, Casio, and Kodak - but you might want to try out others. Take your time in familiarizing yourself with the possible units you will be taking pictures with.

Thats all for our Digital Camera Buying Guide--Good Luck!

About the author:
For comments and inquiries about this article visit http://www.ucreative.com

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Digital Cameras


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Contrary to popular belief, the quality of your printer paper can have aserious impact on the quality of your printer output. You can buy thebest printer in the word ? feed it lousy paper, and you?ll get lousy results.

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How Much Do They Really Cost? There are inkjet printers for every budget. At the low end, you can pay less than $50. At the high-end, you can pay several hundred dollars. However, the purchase price of an inkjet printer is not the best way to determine how good of a bargain you are getting.

Tuesday, April 26, 2005

One-Year Cost of Inkjet Printing

You can now purchase an inkjet printer for as little as $39. With rebates, it may even be less. Not many people would argue about the good deal they got when they purchased their printer. However, the purchase price of an inkjet printer really does not tell you much about your cost of printing. After all, you do need paper and inkjet cartridges to keep your printer printing.

You go to a car lot and look at the sticker price of a car, you will see some of the following items: the base price of the car, the cost for each additional feature or package, the number of miles per gallon for both city and road, and the cost of gasoline for one year under normal driving conditions. What if you got this same type of information for your printer? Would you still buy the same inkjet printer? How would you feel if you knew you would pay more for gas and oil, in the first year you owned your car, than you paid for the car?

Fact is, unless you do very little printing, you will pay more for your paper and inkjet cartridges in the first year than you will pay for your inkjet printer. This is especially true for the low cost inkjet printers. In some cases, the cost of one inkjet cartridge is more than the entire purchase price of an inkjet printer.

Now, if you look at an inkjet printer advertisement, you would learn about some of the following items: the number of pages printed per minute in text and color, the time to print a certain size photo in black and white or color, the number of inkjet cartridges or tanks the printer holds, the near perfect quality of the photo reproduction, the outstanding resolution you will get from (so many) inkjet nozzles and a packaging list of items that come in the box when you purchase it.

However, in most inkjet printer advertisements, you will not see the cost of the premium paper needed to achieve that outstanding photo reproduction. The replacement cost for a black or color inkjet cartridge is nowhere to be found. About the only thing you will see with a dollar sign is the low purchase price of the printer and possibly the rebate. (They also do not tell you all the steps you have to follow to get your rebate and how it may prevent you from returning the printer to the store if something unexpected happened? but that is another story.)

If you look at some of the most popular inkjet printers, here is what you will find about their inkjet cartridges. On the average, a black inkjet cartridge costs between $22 and $30 to replace. A color printer cartridge normally runs between $35 and $60, depending on size.

To get your inkjet printer to print out those outstanding photos that will last for years, you will need to purchase some premium quality paper. Depending on the size, weight and quantity of the premium paper, you can expect to pay from 60 cents to a dollar per page.

Consumers need to know that the major printer manufacturers are selling their inkjet printers at or below cost. They have adopted the marketing practice used in other industries, like the cell phone or razor blade. That is, they sell their initial product at cost or below and expect to make their real profits on the high mark up of their consumable supplies or services.

Don't get me wrong. The quality of the inkjet printer photo reproductions is approaching that of traditional photo processing. The speed of the inkjet printer is constantly rising. The crisp and clear text from the inkjet printer is nearly equal to the quality of laser print. All these are wonderful and welcomed features.

The point I want to make is this: The real cost of printing is not the purchase price of the inkjet printer. You, the consumer, should be informed of the on-going or real cost of printing. Then, you can decide how much you really want to pay for your printing needs.

If the major printer manufacturers were to charge a reasonable price (with profit) for their inkjet printer and reduce the cost of their inkjet cartridges and premium paper, you would realize a substantial savings.

A well-informed consumer is a wiser consumer. If you had a way to estimate the one year cost of printing, depending upon your needs, you would be able to make a much better informed decision on what inkjet printer would best meet your needs.

Until the major manufacturers decide to change their marketing practices, you can do something about the high cost of printing. There are many reputable online merchants that provide compatible inkjet cartridges and inkjet refill kits that can save you up to 85% on the cost of printing. Five minutes of your time reviewing some of these companies could save you hundreds and even thousands of dollars. That would definitely help you reduce your one-year cost of printing. I thought you needed to know.

About the author:Larry Andrew is an educational consultant, author and publisher of http://www.ez-printer-ink.com/ Purchasing printer ink, toner and inkjet cartridges on line should be fast, convenient and cost-effective.

For more information about computers and computer accessories or to purchase them please click below.

http://www.a1-computers.net/cost_of_inkjet_printing.html

Computer Accessories
Computer Equipment

Thursday, April 21, 2005

Why Should I use recycled ink cartridges?

My opinion is that everyone should be using recycled ink cartridges! Why? The quality is the same and you can get savings of up to fifty percent off. But most important is our environment! There are millions of ink cartridges bought every year and only 10-15 percent are currently recycled. Each time you finish a inkjet cartridge you can drop it at an office supply store or obtain an envelope to recycle it. Even Best Buy has a bin you can drop them into to be recycled. I use hp and with each new cartridge you get an envelope to mail your used cartridge back to be recycled, I like that, it is even pre-paid postage! So the use of recycled ink cartridges is a win win!

Is the print quality of a recycled ink cartridge be the same as a new ink cartridge?

Many manufacturers only use high quality inks, which are specifically for inkjet cartridges. They should guarantee the print quality, check the policy before purchasing.

Am I going to get the same number of print pages with a remanufactured cartridge?

All recycled inkcartridges have a specific amount of ink to begin their lifespan and that determines the printing capacity. Each cartridge is weighed for the correct amount of ink during processing and re-checked during quality control.

Have A Great Day and Happy Printing For Less $$!
Bonnie Archer

  • Should I use recycled ink cartridges?
  • Computer Equipment
  • Friday, April 15, 2005

    How Laptops are Different than Desktops

    Laptops mainly differ from desktops in the following features:

    Power supply: As desktops can be plugged in an outlet in the wall (AC Power) so can laptops with an AC adapter. But how a laptop is different from a desktop is that it is portable because batteries can also power laptops. The batteries are rechargeable; lithium, nickel-cadmium, or nickel-metal hydride.

    Display: Also like desktops, laptops have some type of LCD display screen. Modern Laptops have 800 x 600 pixel resolution. This gives it a very clear screen and anything less should be avoided.

    Input Devices: On a desktop computer you usually use a mouse and keyboard to enter data and navigate. With laptops keyboards are built in but since they are portable so they don't have a mouse. Instead they have one of three input devices in place of the mouse. A trackball, rotating the ball allows you to move the cursor. A trackpoint allows you to push your finger over the point to move the cursor. Lastly, a laptop may have a touchpad that you move your finger across to move the cursor.

    Docking Connections: Many laptops come with a docking connection to make it more comfortable to use at a desk. You just plug your laptop in and use it as a desktop. The docking station comes with many peripheral devices: full size computer monitor, full size keyboard and mouse, disk drives and printer.

    Thanks for reading
    B. Archer
    A successful author and publisher of http://www.A1-computers.net. A great source of information about computers and computer accessories.

  • Laptop Computers
  • Tuesday, April 05, 2005

    Meet The New iPod

    What’s new?

    The click wheel
    More efficient menus
    New features
    Longer play
    Lower price
    Color...well...

    Apple's new color iPod. Color display. 15 hrs battery life. Get free shipping & free engraving.
    iPod shuffle


    The fourth generation iPod is on the market. The new iPod operates much more efficiently, has more features and costs less! It also looks a bit different; it has gotten slimmer, and more sleek. This one is about a millimeter thinner.

    The control buttons that used to be under the display screen have been eliminated. Now they have a click wheel and the controls are placed on the compass points on the circular touch pad so you can scroll through the menus. The idea actually came from the Mini iPod. On the mini there just wasn’t enough room for the buttons. "But the minute we experienced it we just thought My God, why didn't we think of this sooner?" says Steve Jobs.

    This new iPod is more efficient: there is less thumbing to find your favorite music. The first level entry is music, and now one click starts the popular method of shuffling your library to playback.

    Included in the new features is multiple on the go play lists and you can delete songs from ad hoc mixes. Also, the audio books are not only easier to find but you can also listen to them at normal speed, slower speed, or twenty-five percent faster and it doesn’t sound like you are in chipmunk land.

    Because of a new conservation of power that Apple has created you can now listen to twelve hours of music before needing to re-charge your batteries. That is a fifty percent boost in battery lasting power.

    All this extra stuff you get for a lower price! The 10,000 songs or 40 gigs runs for $399. And the 5,000 songs or 20 gigs now cost $299. That is a savings of $100. for each model since the last release. The 15 gigs are no longer available.

    Get iTunes Music


    iPod U2 Special Edition Is Collectable and Exciting!
    This Apple U2 special addition iPod is for Mac and Windows. It is very
    collectable because it is the only black iPod available. And of course it
    has the engraved signatures on its backside of U2's Bono, Larry Mullen...

    A1-Computers